Clinical observation on treatment of Tourette syndrome in Chinese children by clonidine adhesive patch

• This is a study companing ‘head-to-head’ 2 available treatments for TS.
• Clonidine adhesive patch does not run through the digestive tract, and be changed once a week.
• Clonidine adhesive patch is a safer and better-tolerated profile.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of clonidine adhesive patch in treating Tourette syndrome (TS).MethodsFrom July 2010 to July 2014,a total of 261 children, who met the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders (third edition) diagnostic criteria for TS, aged 5–12 years, were referred to the department of Pediatrics, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital. The patients were divided randomly into a treatment group (clonidine adhesive patch, n = 128) and a control group (haloperidol, n = 116), 17cases dropped out. The clinical effectiveness was assessed by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) at the end of fourth week. The short-term effectiveness and adverse reaction to the treatment were assessed at the end of treatment.ResultsThe YGTSS score in both groups decreased after 4 weeks of treatment, but the clonidine adhesive patch group showed a higher reduction in the overall tic symptom scores (40.05 ± 3.44%) than that of the control group (17.88 ± 4.40%; P < 0.05). In the clonidine adhesive patch group, the effectiveness was 81.3% (effective in 104 patients), while it was 66.4% in the control group (effective in 77 patients). The overall effectiveness rate showed no statistical significance between the two groups (p > 0.05). There were no severe adverse events in both groups, but mild side effects (decrease of blood pressure and dizziness) were observed in 3 patients in the clonidine adhesive patch group. 2 had mild cervical muscle tension and 4 had mild drowsiness and fatigue in the control group.ConclusionIn the treatment of TS in children and adolescents, the clonidine adhesive patch is superior to the standard treatment with haloperidol with a safer and better-tolerated profile.